Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Lent

In two week Lent begins. Lent is the 40 days before easter, traditionally this has been the time that the church has set aside to prepare for easter. Easter being the greatest and most important Christian holiday, since it remembers the death and resurrection of Jesus our king.
Historically the church has encouraged people to fast from something for Lent. The purpose for this is to 1) remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us (becoming human and dieing) by sacrificing something ourselves. 2) to give up something (often these things are good) to remind ourselves that we need God more than anything else.
So allow me to ask you what are you going to fast from? What are you going to give up for Lent?
It can be anything: jelly beans, TV, books, food, certain kinds of food, ext.
Or perhaps instead of giving up something you want to add something to your life that will help you focus on Jesus this Lent season.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Ben
The question of "Lent" is one I struggle with every Easter season. On one hand, these little visible reminders of what Christ went through for us can lead to ritualistic entrenched rules that become part of our local culture. Whereas, on the other hand, what can I do personally that will make the death and resurrection meaningful in my relationship with Christ?

Ben said...

Dave those are the exact same questions that I often struggle with. Sometimes during Lent I will start doing something that helps me focus on Jesus but half way through I begin to feel that it becomes ritualistic. So do I stop doing it or do I carry on with the "ritual" because I committed to doing it for 40 days?